Cyfarfod y Gweithgor Opsiynau Deddfwriaethol ar Hawliau Dynol: 9 Gorffennaf 2025

• Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA) / Cardiff University Wales Governance Centre
• Disability Wales
• Women’s Equality Network (WEN) Wales
• Cardiff University
• Tai Pawb
• Swansea University
• Contractor
• Independent member
• Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) 

Welsh Government officials

• Equality and Human Rights
• Head of Human Rights
• Policy manager Human Rights officer
• Equality Policy and Government Business officer                              

Apologies

• Bangor University
• Senior policy manager Human Rights

Welcome

The Chair opened the meeting with a progress update. An update was provided on work nearing completion, including Article 10 templates and two narrative summaries, and members were encouraged to provide feedback. Work has also begun on reviewing further articles, drawing on earlier input received.

Part 1 update

• The challenges in applying the templates and conducting the initial sift analysis were discussed, particularly due to the volume of information and the complexity of determining the incorporation of articles. These challenges are outlined below.
  • Challenges in defining analysis boundaries and recognising Welsh Government legal colleagues' authority in making final decisions on article incorporation.
  • CEDAW presents challenge due to its internal diversity. Even within individual articles, there is a mix of intentions, objectives, outcome-setting language, anti-discrimination provisions, and action specifications. This complexity makes engagement with CEDAW analytically demanding. Challenges arise around exceptions and due regard, especially regarding the equality of opportunity reservation.
  • Consideration of carrying out a sift analysis.
  • LOWG's report should note emerging competency issues, with appropriate caveats. Consider what is useful for Welsh Government (WG), as the data may inform future discussions.
• WG Officials suggested revisiting and agreeing on the scope of the analysis to ensure it is manageable and to outline dependencies clearly for feasibility of incorporation.
• Members discussed the possibility of identifying dependencies and making clear recommendations, considering political will, infrastructure, and resources.
• There was a suggestion to concentrate on articles that offer the best hope for incorporation and making positive recommendations, while also considering the underlying purpose of each article.
• Members discussed cutting down through simple repetition.
• It was noted that if full direct incorporation isn't possible, there will be limited options for non-legislative measures, such as awareness, rights education, human rights schemes, and advocacy support. These could be addressed in a cross-cutting section of the final report.
• Article 7 is currently being looked at.
• It was suggested that the group use a shared document for feedback and collaboration on the analysis.

Action: discussion to be held to clarify scope of analysis and revisit expectations.

Action: a shared OneDrive space to be created with structured folders and tracking spreadsheet.

MW: part 2 update

• Articles 5 to 14 are being reviewed, focusing on those that may be incorporated based on initial overview. Approximately three-quarters of the articles have been analysed to date.
• The analysis is intended to be useful for the Welsh Government by clearly identifying key deficits. Part 2 may guide future work, including United Nations (UN) reporting and Human Rights action planning.
• It was recommended that the analysis of CEDAW be continued and completed, with a similar approach applied to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRDP), focusing on identifying the substantive rights and considering incorporation and due regard.
• Reviewing progress and creating a shared space was proposed to track activities ahead of the Autumn stakeholder events.
• There is capacity and some budget to bring members in on UNCRDP analysis work.
• Members welcomed the shared space and questioned whether the term sift suggests that some articles receive less detailed analysis. They also noted that, while certain UNCRDP articles, such as Article 1, do not directly establish rights for incorporation, they remain essential for interpreting and understanding later sections of the document.
• It was confirmed that the sift will be about identifying articles that require deeper analysis but wants to avoid the sift analysis becoming dismissive about some articles.
• Part 1 aims to address elements of articles identified as interpretative provisions, which may result in some repetition within the report.
• An example of the Part 3 template was intended for the meeting, but capacity was too low at this time. A version should be ready to share with the group soon.
• The CRDP analysis timeline was asked about, referencing ongoing consultations on the draft disabled people’s rights plan, which cites the UNCRDP. The UN has also commented on UK benefit cuts and related rights concerns. Several MPs have proposed Universal Credit amendments highlighting the UNCRDP, co-production with disabled people, and a rights-based approach. How will this work amplify or capitalise on work going on in this area?
• Work on CEDAW is expected to be completed shortly, after which work on UNCRDP will begin, starting in early August.
• Capacity is available to start looking at UNCRDP this month.
• Members discussed the timeline and capacity for completing the analysis, confidence was expressed in the ability to meet the mid-December reporting deadline.

Action: sift analysis to be completed and uploaded as a shared document for the group for feedback and comments.

Action: group members to provide feedback on the SIFT analysis once uploaded.

Action: analysis of UNCRPD to start at the beginning of August.

Action: preparatory work will be undertaken for stakeholder engagement activities in the autumn, with the aim of sharing preliminary findings with the sector.

Action: continue conversations about bringing additional capacity into the project using available budget.

Action: follow up with officials regarding the Cabinet Secretary's invitation to discuss the LOWG’s work